Apr 08, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday directed the Ministry Secretaries not to dismiss the requests of the public to the people's representatives as political interference.

The requests of the public forwarded to the heads of state institutions by the peoples' representatives led by ministers are not political mediations, the President told the secretaries in a written statement.

The President directed the Ministry Secretaries to act on these requests on a priority basis.

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga has informed the ministry secretaries of the President's directives in writing.

It has been reported that the ministry secretaries, heads of government institutions and corporations have accustomed to ignore the requests from people's representatives as undue influence and political meddling.

Because of this negative attitude people's requests for better public services have largely been ignored, Secretary to the President has highlighted in his letter to the ministry secretaries.

The President has pointed out that the heads of ministries and public institutions have a responsibility for the public and their representatives have the right to forward the public's grievances or requests to the heads for further action.

If the requests are for employment, the officials should explain the real situations in the institutions under them to the people's representatives, the President instructed. If the employment is based on a competitive examination process the officials should stress that applicants should pass the examination as required.